James 2:18-19 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Mark 5:6-7 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 

In the next few paragraphs, I would like to go through the actions of the demon possessed man in Mark 5 and compare them with the actions most professing Christians may or may not display in their lives in today’s modern culture. There are many who may “tip the hat” or say the “sinner’s prayer” at some point in their life, but the fruit of their life is nothing but complacency or indifference to the Lordship of Christ over every aspect of their life. Simple acknowledgement of facts is nowhere near the bar of complete submission to Jesus Christ, as I hope to present here.

First, let us consider the verses from James. Within today’s culture, there are many who are content with “checking the box.” They may have said a prayer, been baptized, maybe even volunteered one or two days a year, even thrown some money in the offering plate, but their day to day lives are consumed with everything but the Lord Jesus. These “churchy” actions are hardly an indicator of the Lordship of Christ within a person’s life, they are inherently ambiguous in nature because they may simply be indicators of religiosity, not a legitimate proof of pursuing the Savior. This is what James is pointing out in these two verses, that the performance of outward works is in itself no proof of inward change, it may simply be out of obligation or a misguided belief that doing certain things guarantees one’s salvation. He then states that even the demons believe and shudder. The greek word for shudder, phrisso, literally means “to tremble in fear.”

In light of the verses from James, let us now consider the actions of the demon possessed man. “Seeing Jesus from a distance…” Most everyone we experience in culture, have “seen” Jesus in some way, whether through being in a church service, hearing a sermon on the radio, a neighbor, a friend, a coworker, etc. After seeing Jesus, “he ran up and bowed down before Him..” The demon saw Him, ran to Him, and bowed the knee. This man’s actions are beginning to look like those of one who is at least “considering” Jesus. He then calls Him out for who He is, “Jesus, Son of The Most High God.” The Hebrew of this is “El Elyon,” the Highest Title one could give Jesus. He then asks Jesus that He not torment, or judge him.

Let us recap this mans actions and compare them against what a man is asked to do to receive salvation. 1. See or acknowledge Jesus. 2. Run to Him. 3. Bow the Knee. 4. Call on Him by name 5. Ask for a stay of due justice.

What is the motivation of the demon here? A fear of due justice. His outward actions indicate his knowledge of Jesus as Lord, but his motivation is simply to escape justice.

Dear professing Christian, please consider your motivation for having Jesus in your life. If He is only fire insurance, and you have no evidence of His Lordship or a desire to repent from habitual sin, please examine yourself. Don’t allow “churchianity” to give you a false sense of assurance unto a salvation that doesn’t see Christ as Lord in your life.